A sneak peak at FORSAKEN

The writing of Alex's point of view (POV) is underway! On a whim I decided to post a little sneak peak at a section of Forsaken. This is rough, just a first draft but thought you might enjoy! WARNING-if you haven't read Branded DON'T READ THIS!!! Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

PS. The guy Cormack, has a Scottish accent, that's why the dialog might look like a mess.



It didn’t take long for Jessica to fall asleep. I just laid there for a while, just watching her face as she slept. I could watch her sleep for hours and did sometimes. I wished I could keep away the nightmares she had though. I knew she still had them even if she tried to pretend she didn’t. I know she didn’t like to tell me when she had them. I sensed she felt guilty whenever she had them. She was right though, it wasn’t fair that she should still have nightmares, even if they were a different kind. She had lived a nightmare for nearly sixteen years. That should have been enough.

Curiosity got the best of me after a while and I forced myself to leave Jessica’s side and find our new companion. He wasn’t in his room but as I extended my senses I realized he was no longer in the building. I went to his open window, climbed out, and scaled the building to the roof.

Cormack was sitting on the far end of the building at the very peak of the roof. He sat with his arms resting on his knees, staring up into the star peppered sky. He didn’t turn to look at me as I walked the roofline toward him but I knew he heard me as I approached. When I reached him I sat as well, turning my gaze heavenward.

“I forgot how beautiful they were,” Cormack said as he continued to observe the stars.

I didn’t say anything as we sat, side by side, two angels on the rooftop.

“I don think ya realize jus how lucky ya really are to be allowed to still be here,” he said. I thought I detected a hint of emotion in his voice. If he had been capable I suspected he might have had tears in his eyes. “You must a made one hell ‘o a plea to them, or one hell ‘o a sacrifice.”

“She’s sleeping down below us,” I said simply. “And you’re wrong. I do realize how lucky I am to be here, to still be able to be with her. I almost lost her, twice, but we’re still together.”

“She’s the reason you’re still here?” Cormack asked in shock as he looked me in the face.

“She was dying,” I explained. “I traded my life for hers and the council allowed me to come back to her.”

Cormack continued to stare wide eyed and mouthed at me for a moment before he shook his head and looked back up to the stars. “It’s really not fair ya know,” he said. “I would give anythin’ to come back. Do ya know what et’s like, to have someone take your life away like that? To be killed en cold blood?”

“Ya, actually I do,” I chuckled. I was surprised at how little Cormack seemed to know. “The one that escaped is the one who killed me. He snapped my neck after he nearly beat the life out of me. Over Jessica.”

He was quiet for a little after that. I sensed some emotional turmoil going on inside of him. “I envy you, ya know. What you and Jessica have together. I never found that. Always looked for it but never found it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. Truly I was. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without Jessica. It wouldn’t be whole. It would feel totally empty and pointless.

“Tell me what’s happened en the last eighteen years,” he said after a few minutes of silence. “The world looks so different now.”

“What year did you die?” I asked. I could tell the following conversation was going to be strange.

“1992,” he replied with a chuckle. “I can’t believe I missed the changing of a millennium. Ya have no idea how strange it es to hear what year it es.”

“You’re right there,” I chuckled. “I can’t even imagine.”

“So what have I been missin’, these last eighteen years?”

I suddenly wished I kept up on current events more and had paid more attention to the news.